…Ode to Diet Dr. Pepper
Water you are not
But you are so delightful
When it’s so freakin hot
Have a refreshing weekend!
Bookmarked…
“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it”…P.J. O’Rourke
Before I was a compulsive hobbyist, I was a compulsive reader. At any given time, I have three or more books in progress. It’s just how I roll. There have been many times in my life where a book took precedence over just about everything. Have you experienced that wonderful inability to make yourself stop reading?
Today, I thought I’d share what I’m reading now…
We are all about literature for young readers at my house. Sure, sure, it’s because we have a ten year old, but it’s also because Phil and I love adventures!
I recently watched several episodes of the BBC series Merlin, and it stimulated memories of Mary Stewart’s classic Merlin trilogy. I loved these books when I first read them, and Whitney’s looking for her next “series”, so I decided to read them again.
I just finished The Crystal Cave and started The Hollow Hills. They’re wonderful, but not at all as I remembered. I’m not sure that Whitney is ready for them, because you know, lots of sex and adult themes (predictably). Oddly, I didn’t remember that at all. You really do get something different out of a story every time you read it. It also might have something to do with the fact that it’s probably been 25 years or so since I read them the first time.
On the non-fiction end I’m reading on a few different subjects…
In Greg’s Garden, a Pineywood Perspective on Gardening, Nature and Family by Greg Grant is a collection of essays by a well-known Texas horticulturist. The essays are knowledgeable and folksy and it’s a great guide for “native” plant species.
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau – In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he chose to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies.
Sew Everything Workshop: The Complete Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide by Diana Rupp-I’m actually taking Diana’s sewing class on Craftsy and the book was “strongly encouraged” for the class. It’s a good well-balanced overview/tutorial for sewing, however, and has been beneficial for my sewing “do over”.
What are you reading this week? What’s books are on your reading “wish list”?
Awards are Nifty!
I’m always thankful and moderately amazed to get feedback on my ramblings. I’m still fairly new to blogging, and I’m not sure when you become cavalier about being “read” or “followed”, but I do know that I’m not there yet. I am completely susceptible to flattery. It’s just how I roll.
I’ve been passed two very thoughtful awards this week.
Seasonsgirl forwarded the Sunshine award. Her blog is lovely and certainly brings sunshine to my day!
Marsha Lee at Streaming Thoughts bestowed the One Lovely Blog Award. Her blog is a wonderful blending of her thoughts on blogging and life in general.
The rules for these two awards vary, so I’d like to give both of them to a handful of blogs that are lovely and bring sunshine.
The Giraffe’s Hat-whimsical and colorful
House of 34-stylish and funny
Stir and Stitch-talented and tasty
By Number 19-crochet wizardry
Oh Sew Tempting-amazing patchwork
Chic Envelopements-radical refashioning
They’re all fabulous! Take a moment and check them out.
Now, I’m supposed to tell you guys 5 or 7 or 11 or 600 things about myself. So hard. I think I’ll aim for three. I’m all about setting achievable goals 🙂
1. I listen to NPR whenever I’m in my car. I don’t know when it happened. One day I listened to a wide variety of music. The next day, I had crossed over to all talk radio all the time. I can’t tell you what songs are top 40 and I don’t know who most of the new artists are. This morning I busted out of my rut and listened to Def Leperd, the Pretenders and 50 Cent.
2. I can’t tolerate reality TV. Because of this I’m hopelessly out of the loop at the water cooler. I didn’t even watch Dancing with the stars this season. I have, however, tuned into A&E’s Duck Dynasty twice in the last week. Not sure what’s happening there…it’s kind of like watching a wreck.
3. I have three favorite drinks currently: 1) Latte made at home with Cafe Bustelo, fat free milk, lightly sweetened with agave syrup 2) Dripping Springs Vodka with Fresca 3) Diet Dr. Pepper from the Sonic
What’s your favorite drink this summer?
Haiku for the Weekend-Father’s Day Edition
A boy and a girl
They both have his deep brown eyes
They’re kind like him too
The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat
It’s been a month of highs and lows at my little hacienda. Ta da! Our first egg!
Finally! In all it’s tiny perfection.
We still haven’t ferreted out which of the Hogwart’s four is our layer. I plan to stalk the henhouse this weekend. I think it’s Jenny Weasley.
I know I should love them all the same, but Jenny’s my “bff” chicken. She’s the only one who lets me pet her. Either that or she’s scared of me and she’s dropping in fear…nah, I’m sticking with the first version where she loves me and lets me pet her.
On with the happenings. Behold my beautiful garbage can potato plants
Blessedly, we’ve been getting a little rain over the last few weeks. This time last year, we had already begun our 100+ degree heat and relentless drought conditions. So again, I say, the rain is a blessing. A blessing that pairs with oppressive humidity, which breeds mold and fungus….
Fungus…aka early blight. So…darn…maddening! The potatoes had done so well! I was so proud. And yes, I know I talking about them like they’re already dead and gone, but my optimism is strained on this one. I cleaned away most of the speckled leaves. I did everything I could figure out to do for them. If we can limp along a little, maybe I can salvage new potatoes?
I’m probably a little more upset about the potatoes than is rational because my favorite climbing rose is struggling with a brutal case of Black Spot, and my cucumbers look to have a virulent case of powdery mildew. I don’t have a green thumb, I have a spotted fungus thumb! So sad…
This climbing beauty will soon be a nubby, aggressively pruned beauty.
But then, there are a few bright spots that balance the spotty victims in my landscape.
My Zinnias from last summer volunteered this year! I love them!
They’re such a cheerful companion for the herbs and veggies in my raised beds.
My squash and zucchini threaten to overtake their companions…
And if I could get the slugs and beetles to chill on my Mr. Stripey, he promises some tomato goodness very soon. (I couldn’t bear to pull that Zinnia like it was a weed!)
Note the giant Tomatillo plant in the background of the next shot. It’s been blossoming relentlessly for months. The butterflies love it! Unfortunately, they don’t bother to print on the packaging that Tomatillo plants need to cross pollinate in order to fruit. I have only one…therefore, it will never fruit.
Really? Don’t you think that might be good information? To put on the stick with the growing conditions? Just saying…
But really, who cares about the weird Tomatillo situation when you turn around and find this.
Tunisian…Ta Da!
I completed the first panel of Jennifer Hansen’s Tunisian Multi-Garment!
It was fun. Learning Tunisian has been very gratifying. These pictures were taken after my first quick run at blocking. I still have some perfecting to do with the structure.
I have a sneaky suspicion that I would have been happier with a slightly larger size. I won’t know for certain until I’ve completed the second panel. The sizes were based on bust circumference and I think I would prefer a little more length on what will inevitably be the “torso”. Maybe I’m long-waisted….or maybe my tummy is a little more of an issue than my bust….
The color work is fascinating. Let it be known, however, that it leaves a gazillion ends to be woven. Hence the probable delay in starting the second panel for the garment. I need a little time to forget what a pain those ends were.
All in all, however, I’m extremely pleased! The Craftsy class on Tunisian was a great experience. I’ve signed on for three additional classes since beginning the Tunisian. I’m not sure that the instruction I’m seeing is the same quality that Jennifer Hansen provided in the Tunisian class, but I love the platform and recommend it for anyone who struggles to find classes available in your location or that work with your schedule.
Haiku for the Weekend…
The smell of sunscreen
Permeates the empty rooms
Sounds of distant laughter
Kreativ – ity
Anna, a phenomenal blogger found at Oceannah on WordPress, has very graciously nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award. I’m so flattered! Thank you!
The first thing I did following anna’s post was Google the award. There are dozens of different versions of the rules out there! Most of them deal with information posted in groupings of seven, but not all of them do so I’m going to wing it.
First I’m supposed to tell you guys something interesting about myself. Boo. I’m terribly interesting, but I can never think of anything under pressure-so here are several random facts:
- I’m a native Texan. I never planned to remain in rural East Texas. I just grew up and realized I like it. When you spend your life in a place, it becomes part of who you are. Who knows what the future may bring, however. I never rule out possibilities.
- I’m the youngest of four and so is my husband. My sister-in law told us not to get married. Her theory was that two “youngest” children should never wed because all youngest children are spoiled and selfish and the marriage will inevitably blow up. We’re 12 years into our marriage, and we’re still ok. Needless to say, she’s an “oldest” child. You have to take her birth order wisdom with a grain of salt.
- I love movies based on comic book heroes…all of them. Spawn is on my top five favorite movies list. His cape is cool. He was hot before they burned him. The little clown guy is gross. You have to take the bad with the good.
- As a child I lived in an old school building. There were chalk boards in all the classrooms, a stage, an auditorium and urinals in the bathrooms. As one can imagine, living in this environment between the ages of 3 and 12 was awesome! This was during the 70’s and early 80’s when roller skating (a la Xanadu) was the activity of choice. I practically had a rink at my disposal. It helped that my mom and dad put a jukebox, ping pong table and pool table in the old auditorium. Our living room was set up on the stage. Good times, people, good times….
That’s a lot-I think I’ll stop there. Next I’m supposed to pass on the award to more Kreativ blogs. I’m fairly new to the WordPress family, but there are several that I enjoy and admire:
- Paper and Salt-I love the way Nicole intertwines her love of Cooking and Literature. Delicious! Delightful!
- House of 34-No stranger to this sort of award, Laurie is a Design DIY maven with a wicked sense of humor.
- SCCLiving-Kimberly writes about her Star Creek Country Texas homestead and all the bounty it provides in a most endearing way.
- Made by Patch-Trish blogs about her love of crochet, sewing and the occasional delectable recipe. Her patchwork is a whimsical treat!
I hope you enjoy this group as much as I have! Have a wonderful weekend!
Playing the Field..
I’ve been multi-tasking….burning both ends of the candle, if you will. On the one hand, I am full steam ahead with my Tunisian Crochet class and the Multi Garment.
Simultaneously, I am “go” for my sewing “Do Over”.
It’s like dating two guys when you’re single. You usually spend one date wishing you were on another. Then you feel guilty when you’re on a date with a guy you really like, because the other dude is more responsible and more stable. Usually things fall apart with both of them at about the same time and you wind up with no date…but I digress…
Apparently the sewing “do over” is Mr. Stability. The Tunisian multi-garment is the hotter Mr. Smooth. (This is a bizarre analogy, but let’s go with it.)
The stitch patterns are gorgeous.
Even though I’m using cotton instead of silk, the stitching still promises attractive drape. With the Tunisian, despite being in learning mode, everything is easier.
Sewing, not so much. I’ve finished my first set of pillow covers. I haven’t worked up the enthusiasm to photograph them yet. They’re cute….that’s it. Just cute. I wanted spectacular…wow! But nope, they’re cute. Like I said, the craft equivalent to Mr. Stability. I think I’ll wait and post them when I can add a few more for a grouping.
Until then, back to Mr. Smooth…
A Sewing Do-Over
Sewing and I have a love/hate relationship. I’ve always been fascinated by it in theory. But it’s always fallen apart in practice. As a kid, my mom put in a good faith effort to teach me to sew. The poor woman finished every item I ever started. Unfailingly, the projects were miserable experiences. The detail…The jargon…The need for constant focus…all of it worked to my weaknesses. Even then, I was a big picture girl-conceptual and broad in my focus. Attention to detail has always been an “opportunity” for me.
After I began crocheting, however, my craft blog obsession led me to all that sewing can produce. The adorable, the beautiful, the intricate, the awesome projects on the web beckoned….and I began to covet. I began to covet the ability to sew. Per my usual mode of operation, I made the decision to learn and immediately began collecting all the accoutrements needed. Especially fabric….stacks of it. That’s what I do-I collect…
Over the last three years, I’ve completed the following:
- One apron
- A handful of cup cozies
- One skirt
- Approximately 25 pair of pajama pants
- Curtains
- Monday’s pillowcase
I enjoyed the curtains and the monkey pillowcase. The others? Not so much. I make so many stupid mistakes! So I’m regrouping. I can do this!
I’m starting over….that’s right, a sewing do-over. First, the basics….pillows! I’m more than tired of the throw pillows in the living room. I’m going to use some of this freaking fabric if it’s the last thing I do!
I’m thinking some combination of these…They make me happy.
I’m also going to look for a class. I won’t let my past define me. That’s right, I call “do over”.
Such the Like... 